New Year’s resolution or not, Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick made a profound statement of his intentions for 2011 when he won his first New Zealand Lambshearing Championship at the Western Shears in Raglan on Saturday 8th Jnauray.
It was one of the few major titles the 40-year-old hadn’t won, gave him an unbeaten record in three competitions this season, and wasn’t good news for southern shearers who this week will try to break his domination of the Northern Southland Community Shears title in Lumsden and the National Crossbred Lambs Championship at the Winton A and P Show, a Friday-Saturday double he’ll be out to win for a fourth time.
In November, Kirkpatrick made a short trip home from Australia where he has been working around Hamilton, Vic, to win another Friday-Saturday double, the NZ Corriedale title in Christchurch and the Central Hawke’s Bay Shears in Waipukurau. Clearly elated to overcome his Raglan hoodoo, he said he still has no plans to do anything else in sport, other than chasing the shows, and watching the exploits of son and Super Rugby player Daniel and his two daughters..
“With the World championships in New Zealand next year, everyone will be going for it,” he said. Runner-up at Raglan last year he finally claimed the title on Saturday by turning the tables on 2008 World teams champion partner Paul Avery, whose training over the last nine months has been directed at his multi-sports debut in the Coast to Coast next month.
New World champion Cam Ferguson, the youngest in the five-man final was third, just two days before a bid to break a World record of 736 lambs in eight hours at Moketenui, King Country, on Monday[jan 10].
There was disaster for shearing icon David Fagan who shore the last five sheep missing the bottom tooth of his second comb, and having to settle for fourth overall.
Nephew James Fagan was first to finish – his 14min 39sec for 20 lambs beating Kirkpatrick by 13 seconds – but suffered heavily in judging and was placed fifth.
There was still some silverware for the family to take back to Te Kuiti, with David Fagan’s son, Jack, winning the intermediate final, his biggest win to date and despite being last to finish his four-lamb final. His better quality enabled him to win from runner-up Damon Macdonald, of Coroglen, and Irish shearer Robert Davidson, who won the race but also lost the advantage in the judging pens.
The youngest shearer on the day, in which competitors ranged from 14 to 75, was Masterton schoolboy David Gordon who won the junior title, to go with his famed Golden Shears novice win last March.. Heilin Thomas, from Lampeter in Wales, was second, and third was Natalie Crisp, who represented England in the World woolhandling championship in Wales in July.
The superior quality of Gisborne shearer Wi Ngarangione claimed him the senior final over 12 lambs, at the scene of one of his few defeats in the intermediate grade last season. He also won despite being last to finish. The Northland region scooped the best of the minor money, with Tipene Te Whata, of Tautoro in the Far North second, and Bevan uy, of Kaeo, third.
David Fagan ended the visit to Raglan in style when he won the Te Mata Club Speedshear on Saturday night, with a $2000 prize for the fastest lamb, shorn in 18.24sec. Masterton-based Dannevirke shearer Paerata Abraham was second in 18.54sec, and Te Kuiti’s Digger Balme third in 19.22sec.
Masterton teenager Matene Mason, who was fourth in the 12-lamb senior championships final earlier in the day, won the Senior speedshear, having made the 10-man final only after judge’s upheld his appeal against disqualification in the preliminary round.